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14 Design of Sheet-Pile Walls & Bulkheads PDF
14 Design of Sheet-Pile Walls & Bulkheads PDF
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Topics
Design of Vertical Sheet-Pile walls and Bulkheads
Function
Design Steps
Backfill and Drainage
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Design of Vertical Sheet-Pile walls and Bulkheads
Function
Seawalls are shore-parallel structures designed to protect upland installations such as
houses and roads, port facilities or artificially filled land areas. The term "bulkhead" is
sometimes used interchangeably with seawall; however, structures intended as docks, wharves,
or boat landings are almost always referred to as bulkhead structures. Sheet piles are one of the
most common types of earth retention structures.
The most common materials for seawalls and bulkheads are steel, concrete and timber.
1. Steel Piles:
a. Steel sheet-piling is the most widely used bulkhead material.
b. Steel piles can be driven into the foundation without extensive excavation. It can
be driven into hard, dense soils and even soft rock.
c. They are suitable for structures requiring deep penetration, large water depth, free
standing or the combinations.
d. Sections of various Geometries and sizes are available on the market from
different manufacturers.
e. The interlocking feature of the sheet-pile sections provides a relatively sand- or
soil-tight fit that generally precludes the need for filters. This close fit may also be
essentially water-tight, so regularly spaced weep holes are recommended. These
and lifting holes in the piling should be backed with a proper filter to preclude
loss of backfill material.
f. In marine environment, the material is susceptible to corrosion, particularly in
warm climates. The splash zone ( between mean low water and the upper limit of
wave contact) and areas near mud line are most vulnerable to corrosion.
Protective coatings such as bitumen or concrete encasement are recommended.
Ln
P1
HA
Ap
Bn
DA
L = H + Dn
Do
Dn
P2
D
MR > SFMa
T
Ma; active moment
from the section
MR
MR;resistance or passive
moment from the section
Beam Diagram
V(z) = 0 q(z)dz
and
z
M(z) = 0 v(z)dz
where q, V and M are force, shear and moment, respectively. Fig. 9 shows an example of
the q-, V- and M-diagram on a wall section. The values of maximum M and V are used to
determine the required cross-section of the wall.
Under ordinary situation, the shear stress can be neglected. The required section
modulus of the wall section is then determined by,
Z=
M
a
FR
Q(z)
V(z)
M(z)
reduction and the deflection are mutually dependent, the design cross-section is not
unique.
A Multiple number of cross-sections can all satisfy the stress criterion. A lighter
cross-section generally costs less but deflects more than a heavier cross-section. An
optimum design selection is then determined by the allowable deflection.
2. Anchor design
Anchor on cap
Anchor Block
Reinforcing
required
a. Set Anchor Point i. Optimum is above residue water line (may be on pile cap)
ii. Minimum above MHHW
iii. Higher anchor larger anchor block larger tension
b. Solve for anchor force F = 0
For the anchor to not add any loading to the wall, it must located in the
zone of no added pressure. The critical angle c could be determined by the
Culman method.
We first express the wedge of weight of W behind the wall in terms of the
wedge angle as shown in Fig 12-A. The free body diagram is given in Fig.12-B.
The horizontal force acting on the wall due to this wedge is the quantity Qh. This
quantity clearly varies with angle . Thus, a Qh - diagram can be constructed as
shown in Fig.12-C. In this diagram a maximum value of Qh exists. The c is
determined so that the combined earth loading and the anchor reaction will not
exceed the Qh maximum.
The depth of the anchor block, D, is determined by equating the allowable anchor
pull to the anchor resistance:
FR = (
s K p - K a ) h + D
S.F.
2
where FR = horizontal anchor pull, or the anchor tension at the set point at the wall; h =
embedment depth at the top of the anchor block.; S.F. is the safety factor and a value of
about 2 or larger is used to account for the uncertainty of the soil properties.
Since the pressure distribution on the anchor block is trapezoidal as shown in Fig.
13 the connection of the tie rod to the block should pass the centroid of pressure
distribution to minimize anchor rotation.
Finally, the section of anchor block is designed against the stress induced by anchor rod
and earth pressure. Again, the shear stress can be neglected considering only the bending stress.
In this case, it is common practice to treat the anchor block as continuous beam in the horizontal
direction and cantilever in the vertical direction. The corresponding bending moments are,
therefore,
M h=
TL
12
M v=
TD
8
M=
TL
10
where T is the tension in tie rod and L is the spacing between tie rods. For tie rod set at an angle,
the tension is computed by:
T = F R sec
where = tie rod angle with respect to horizontal.
Backfill and Drainage
Backfill in the anchor zone should be compacted to achieve the desired resistance. Near
the wall, however, the material should be sufficient porous to allow adequate drainage. Drain
holes should be tapped on the wall with adequate frequency. The location of the drain hole
should be above the mean high water line. If the material behind the wall contains fine soil filter
cloth might have to be installed to prevent excessive leaching of material. For seawall of
inadequate elevation, it is advisable to install a drain field using pebbles or gravel field. A hard
surface made of reinforced concrete also could prove to be effective against erosion caused by
overtopping. Such hard surface must be constructed on adequate and well-drained foundation to
be effective.